In this edition:
- All Ontario grocery and big-box stores now able to sell alcoholic beverages
- How soon could Canada Post strike begin if no deal reached?
- Canadian manufacturing and utilities sector posts biggest decline since 2021
- Decline in unfilled jobs pauses after three months of consecutive decreases
- KPMG survey shows that cybersecurity is still seen as a ‘tick-the-box exercise’
- Niagara Transit studying electrification of fleet
- Focus on Retail
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All Ontario grocery and big-box stores now able to sell alcoholic beverages
As the final step in the government’s plan to give people in Ontario more choice and convenience, all licensed grocery stores and big-box grocery stores are now able to sell beer, wine, cider and ready-to-drink beverages, including in large pack sizes.
Among the first in this final stage of the roll-out is Costco, all of whose Ontario locations were included in the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO)’s publicly-available data, although it’s unclear if Costco will start selling alcohol as soon as it’s able to.
Photo credit: Jerome / Adobe Stock
How soon could Canada Post strike begin if no deal reached?
Canada Post and its postal workers are negotiating a new collective agreement and if a deal doesn’t come together soon, a labour disruption could happen as early as Sunday.
Since there typically is no post on Sundays, customers could see their deliveries stop as soon as Monday.
Photo credit: romankrykh / Adobe Stock
Canadian manufacturing and utilities sector posts biggest decline since 2021
Real gross domestic product (GDP) was essentially unchanged in August, Statistics Canada reported today, but goods-producing industries (-0.4%) reached its lowest level since December 2021, with the manufacturing and utilities sectors causing the decline within this aggregate.
The manufacturing sector was the largest detractor to growth in August, decreasing 1.2%, with both durable goods and non-durable goods manufacturing contributing to the decline.
Photo credit: Pixel-Shot / Adobe Stock
Decline in unfilled jobs pauses after three months of consecutive decreases
Job vacancies were little changed at 518,300 in August after three consecutive months of declines. Compared with August 2023, job vacancies were down by 176,300 (-25.4%) in August 2024.
Declines were recorded in health care and social assistance (-12,700 to 114,700), construction (-7,600 to 38,600) and information and cultural industries (-1,500 to 5,800).
Image credit: titima157 / Adobe Stock
KPMG survey shows that cybersecurity is still seen as a ‘tick-the-box exercise’
With nearly a 10-percentage point jump in cyberattacks over the past year, Canadian business leaders rank cybersecurity as the No. 1 threat to their growth, finds a recent KPMG Private Enterprise™ survey. Yet over 70 per cent of companies still treat cybersecurity as a ‘tick-the-box exercise’.
“Our recent poll found 71 per cent of companies are not taking a strategic approach to managing their risk and consider cybersecurity a tick-box in staff training,” said Hartaj Nijjar, partner and national leader of KPMG in Canada’s cybersecurity practice.
Photo credit: Niagara Region Transit / supplied
Niagara Transit studying electrification of fleet
Niagara Transit is spearheading a comprehensive Fleet Electrification Strategy and Implementation Study aimed at significantly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while keeping costs low and ensuring smooth operations for taxpayers.
To lead this transformative project, Niagara Transit has hired Alectra Energy Solutions Inc. (AES), a recognized leader in energy solutions with extensive expertise and a vast network of partners in delivering transit-oriented solutions.
Did you know?
Focus on Retail
Canadians split on handing out Halloween candy this year: poll
Through the Daily Updates, the GNCC aims to deliver important business news in a timely manner. We disseminate all news and information we feel will be important to businesses. Inclusion in the Daily Update is not an endorsement by the GNCC.
